of 



many mountain sheep; these he barely noticed, 

 but a bear that we came upon he was most eager 

 to fight. 



The second night in the mountains, near 

 Home's Peak, we had an exciting time with a 

 mountain lion. Coyotes howled during the 

 evening, much to the dog's annoyance. It was 

 a cold night, and, being without bedding, I had 

 moved the fire and lain down upon the warm 

 earth. The fire was at my feet, a crag rose above 

 my head, and Rob was curled up against my 

 back. A shrill, uncanny cry of the lion roused me 

 after less than an hour's sleep. The dog was 

 frightened and cuddled up close to my face. 

 The lion was on a low terrace in the crag, not 

 many yards distant. Having been much in the 

 wilds alone and never having been attacked by 

 lions, I had no fear of them; but none had ever 

 been so audacious as this one. I began to think 

 that perhaps it might be true that a lion would 

 leap upon a dog boldly at night, even though 

 the dog lay at the feet of his master. I kept close 

 watch, threw stones at suspicious shadows on 

 the cliff terraces, and maintained a blazing fire. 



102 



